Researchers at McMaster’s University in Hamilton, Canada discovered a new antibiotic molecule, called lariocidin, which was isolated from soil samples collected from the university’s backyard and cultured for a year.

The molecule was isolated from Paenibacillus spp. bacteria and belongs to a class of peptides called lasso peptides due to their knot-like shape.

The molecule targeted the A-site in the 30s ribosomal subunit, which led to an interruption of the translation process and miscoding within the pathogenic bacteria.

The molecule showed broad spectrum action against gram positive, gram negative and mycobacterial specimens even with species shown to be resistant to other antibiotics. This was attributed to the unique shape of the peptides and the new binding site which was not used by other antibiotics.

Further, no cytotoxicity was noticed towards eukaryotic cells in in-vivo experiments, thus showing signs of not being toxic to humans.

Animal experiments showed promising action towards a wide spectrum of bacteria and raised hopes of a new, powerful antibiotic. Researchers will now try to work on synthesising a functional antibiotic from the molecule.